River Neretva, Bosnia and Herzegovina ©Dinno Kasalo
While Europe is in lockdown over the Corona virus, investors are increasingly taking advantage of the unusual situation to build illegal dams in the Balkans. South of the capital Sarajevo in Bosnia, the construction of five dams has now begun or is being pushed to begin—in three cases without any permits. Local citizens are protesting the construction of these dams which will destroy their rivers, extinguish aquatic species, and forever change the surrounding land and ecosystems. A key driver behind the widespread river ecocide in the Balkans is the EU/European Commission-backed hydropower subsidies. Local communities need the assistance of global pressure to end these subsidies and stop these deadly dams.
What is at stake now, according to scientists, is 11,000 kilometers of rivers in pristine or near pristine state. These are some of the last unspoiled natural rivers remaining in all of Europe.
https://www.patagonia.com/stories/save-blue-heart-europe-balkan-rivers-story/story-28991.html
Please help us save these last wild rivers in Europe. Between Slovenia and Greece about 3,000 new hydropower projects are planned (436 in Bosnia alone!), more than 1,000 of them inside protected areas such as national parks or nature reserves. If these are built, close to 50 fish species will become extinct or pushed close to extinction, or about 10% of all European freshwater fish species (according to the Eco-Masterplan for Balkan rivers). The scientific research[1] provides ample evidence that Balkan rivers are the most important hotspot for threatened freshwater biodiversity in Europe.
The main reason so many dams are now being built in this relatively pristine region is that hydro-developers are using what was intended as a positive renewable energy policy, Feed-in Tarrifs (FITS), to very negative ends.
Under FIT policies, investors receive government subsidies (financed through the electricity bills of consumers) for the electricity produced from the hydropower plants connected to each dam. Under this policy, the investor receives up to 3 times the amount of the actual market price of selling the electricity! This money machine together with corruption and nepotism are the key drivers behind the dam boom. The subsidies essentially pay developers for damming and destroying precious rivers. All dam construction should be stopped until new policies can be put in place that will protect these rivers and their ecosystems.
TAKE ACTION:
Send a message to the President, Vice President, key Commissioners of the European Commission, and Director of the Energy Community (see below for their emails). Urge them to immediately:
- End subsidies to hydropower projects
- Take action with national leaders of the Western Balkan countries to initiate a moratorium on new hydropower plants in the region to ensure that the most vivid rivers of Europe will not be destroyed.
SEND A MESSAGE TO THE FOLLOWING EUROPEAN AUTHORITIES:
Mrs. von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, ec-president-vdl@ec.europa.eu
Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission, frans-timmermans-contact@ec.europa.eu
Olivér Várhelyi, DGNEAR Commissioner, cab-varhelyi-contact@ec.europa.eu
Virginijus Sinkevičius, DG ENVI Commissioner, cab-sinkevicius-contact@ec.europa.eu
Janez Kopac, Director of the Energy Community, janez.kopac@energy-community.org
Additional resources and links:
The main driver of the destructive small hydropower boom in the Balkans is the availability of public financial support in the form of feed-in tariffs. In 2018, 70% of EU renewable energy financial support in the Western Balkans was invested in highly destructive small hydropower, while the huge PV potential was largely ignored. In 2018, only 3.6% of electricity in the Western Balkans was generated by hydropower plants under 10 MW, at a massive environmental cost. What this means is that the Balkan rivers are being destroyed for very little electricity as a result of EU subsidies on hydropower. Instead of river-destroying excess hydropower, the region should focus on energy efficiency and building of truly clean renewable energy like solar and wind.
- Recent press release from the Blue Heart of Europe coalition: https://balkanrivers.net/en/news/increasing-destruction-na5%20rijeka%20ture-times-pandemic
- https://www.balkanrivers.net/en/campaign
- Blue Heart Eco-Masterplan scientifically assessing more than 80,000 kilometers of Balkan rivers and streams
- https://bankwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/who-pays-who-profits.pdf
EarthAction.org lois@earthaction.org
[1] https://balkanrivers.net/sites/default/files/Fish_Study_web.pdf
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